20th
November
2023
Baby steps
I recall my first camera. Yes the images in my mind are monochrome and blurry but that was a tribute to technology. The camera like so many others in history was manufactured by Kodak. And to say that it belonged to me is perhaps a stretch. The box belonged to my mother. She had two. Similar. Hers had a flash attachment. But they were both Brownie Hawkeye cameras from a period back when I could barely write my own name. I am not sure of how it came to be but at one point she confired ownership to me of the smaller one. She purchased the film and I did this stand in a place and point. These cameras were limited. To make things work you really needed sunshine and a steady hand. I think that all of the photos are now gone and from what I remember they were of little interest to anyone on the planet. Images of buildings in my area with a peculiar slant to the horizon. If I had known then what I know now. Later my life I developed the knowledge to actually do my own darkroom work and I could have continued to use the camera long after it was practical. I have checked and the box is not in another box. I assume the same thing for boxes at my mother’s house. It was, however, a fine introduction to the world of photography. Low in cost and almost impossible to break. In the world of a camera those are good details. Would I trade in what we have now for what we had then six decades ago. No but I am glad that I passed that way baby steps for a baby photographer. And that is probably why she had two cameras. Bought in time for her first babies. Outstanding people like myself and my sisters. And for the record we never did get into the home movie craze
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